In Aljustrel, Beja district, following the conclusion of another stop on the ‘For Cohesion and Valuing the Territory’ route along the National Road 2 across the country, José Luís Carneiro addressed inquiries about the three letters sent to Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
The Socialist Secretary-General mentioned that he has already discussed these letters, which contain proposals on Housing, Defense, and Hospital Emergency, with Montenegro.
“In the dialogue I had with the Prime Minister, I received the assurance that the Government wishes to count on the contributions of the PS for the areas of Defense and to implement the coordination unit for the hospital emergency,” he stated.
The leader of the PS also noted having discussed “many other issues” with the head of the executive, but those were “specifically considered by the Prime Minister,” and now it is up to “Luís Montenegro to fulfill that promise and to see how this commitment translates into practice.”
José Luís Carneiro was also questioned about today’s announcement by the Government that, next Wednesday, a series of meetings will commence in the Assembly of the Republic with various parties.
In a press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Carlos Abreu Amorim, mentioned these meetings aim to allow the Finance Minister to “present the major budgetary options” and to discuss the State Budget for 2026 (OE2026) and other matters.
The PS leader acknowledged that “there were contacts between the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the President of the PS Parliamentary Group to hear from political parties on various issues.”
One topic discussed was “the recognition of the State of Palestine,” regarding which the Socialists’ position “is known and has been publicly assumed and defended in the Assembly of the Republic,” he said.
“I believe there will be other areas, but we must wait for the Government’s political agenda to be set, as it is the Government that must take the initiative. They initiated [the meetings], so they naturally need to explain what they wish to discuss,” stated José Luís Carneiro.
Regarding the Independent Technical Commission on fires, the PS Secretary-General stated that, for now, “the most important” is still to monitor “the ongoing [fire] season.”
“We are still far, unfortunately, from the end of these forest fires. I once again urge responsibility among the Portuguese. There is only one way to avoid fires, by avoiding ignitions, and therefore, we all, as citizens, must contribute to a safer country by preventing ignitions,” he emphasized.
The PS leader was also questioned about comments made today by the Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, stating that it was a socialist government in 2015 that dropped the purchase of new Canadair aircraft approved by the previous PSD/CDS government.
According to José Luís Carneiro, the AD Government “must remember that it has been in office for a year and a half, so it is already becoming the past” and he reiterated the words of former Social Democratic Prime Minister Cavaco Silva: “A government that after six months blames previous governments is an incompetent government incapable of solving the Portuguese people’s problems.”
